-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Beijing hosted one of the most memorable Summer Olympics in recent history -- now the Chinese capital is hoping to welcome the world 's top Winter Games stars for the first time in a joint 2022 bid .

The 2008 host , along with the northern city of Zhangjiakou , is vying with several European cities after having officially entered the bidding , according to the Chinese Olympic Committee -LRB- COC -RRB- .

Beijing would stage the ice events , reports the country 's state-run news agency Xinhua , while snow-based competitions would take place in Zhangjiakou .

`` The 2008 Olympics has left many legacies to Beijing , which includes experience and sufficient infrastructure , '' Beijing Sports Bureau chief Li Yingchuan told Xinhua .

`` Take the Capital Stadium as an example , it has about 10,000 seats . ''

Beijing hosted an International Skating Union competition earlier this month but would still require a new speed skating arena .

There are plans to build an express railway line to cover the 174 km distance from Beijing to Zhangjiakou , which is in Hebei Province .

It is estimated the journey time will be just 40 minutes , but Li is wary of the cost to the local environment .

`` The government has already started to tackle the problem , '' said Li . `` I believe in 10 years the situation will be much better . ''

China faces a fight to win the hosting rights , with Germany 's Munich , the Norwegian capital Oslo , Almaty in Kazahkstan , Poland 's Krakow , Ukraine 's Lviv and Sweden 's Oestersund all in the mix .

There is also the fact that Pyeongchang of South Korea will host the 2018 Winter Games -- making it unlikely that another Asian country would succeed in 2022 .

`` There is a rotation rule , though unwritten , in the bid . Since Pyeongchang won the 2018 bid , Beijing as another Asian city will face a daunting task to beat the odds , '' Li said .

`` I would say anything is possible . Even if Beijing loses this time , we will continue our efforts in the future . ''

A decision on which country will host the 2022 Games will be made in July 2015 by the International Olympic Committee .

Japan is the only Asian country to have hosted the Winter Olympics , in Sapporo -LRB- 1972 -RRB- and Nagano -LRB- 1998 -RRB- .

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China makes bid to host Winter Olympic Games in 2022

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Beijing plans to stage Games along with city of Zhangjiakou

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Plans to build railway to link two venues unveiled

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Faces challenge from several other cities including Munich , Oslo and Krakow